Outside Mikaelson Compound...
Seeing the Hollow's presence getting stronger, Vincent and Sofya, who were trying to convince Hayley and Hope, started to sweat.
Grit~
"No, I can't allow her to come back."
Gritting his teeth, Vincent, who couldn't lose his patience, wanted to sneak attack Hayley and Hope, to immobilize them so he could enter the Mikaelson compound and stop whatever this family wanted to do this time.
"____"
"____"
Caught off guard, both Hayley and Hope were immobilized by Vincent's sneak attack.
Sigh~
"Sorry Hayley, Hope, you guys forced me to do this."
With a sigh, Vincent was about to pass through them to enter the Mikaelson compound.
Boom~
But he was greeted by a fist straight in his face and sent flying.
Thud~
Ahhhh~
Hitting the nearby lamppost and falling to the ground, Vincent covered his face in pain.
Puke~
When Vincent saw his hands were covered in blood, he puked a few teeth into his hand, which was clearly due to the force of the hit that sent him flying.
After Vincent was hit, his immobilization spell, which was binding Hayley and Hope, vanished.
Everyone looked at the source who hit Vincent.
They were greeted by Emmette, who was looking at Vincent angrily.
"____"
"What??? He's looking down on us."
With irritation seeping through his voice, Emmette walked to the side of Jess, who was trying to coax him.
Emmette felt offended when Vincent didn't pay attention to them or acted like he wasn't taking them seriously, making him lose patience.
"Marcel, why are you silent? Why are you supporting them?"
Sofya's eyes landed on Marcel, who was calmly standing, leaning on the door with his eyes closed.
She asked him.
"____"
Hearing his name, Marcel opened his eyes and looked at Sofya, who was asking him with narrowed eyes and fear visible in her tone.
"Don't worry, Sofya... think about it calmly. We initiated this, which means we are confident that this time we can eliminate the Hollow once and for all."
Clearly understanding why Sofya was panicking, Marcel looked at her seriously, nodded his head, and calmly explained to her.
"____"
Hearing Marcel's words, she couldn't help but want to curse, but what could she do? She was outnumbered.
"Don't worry, Ms. Sofya, the one dealing with the Hollow inside is Jojo, the leader of DMC, who is more powerful than you imagine. If anyone can solve the Hollow, it's him."
Looking at the shuddering Sofya, who seemed to be on the verge of breaking down due to her PTSD from when the Hollow previously possessed her, Esme walked towards her and placed her hands on her shoulders to comfort her.
"____"
Gulp~
Looking at Esme, who was bursting with confidence, without an ounce of hesitation visible on her face, Sofya calmed down and turned to look at the others' faces.
All of them, except her and Vincent, were very calm, like the situation was already under their control.
There were also Rosalie and Alice, who were chatting happily like they were on vacation.
She could hear that they were planning to go to Salvatore Boarding School in Mystic Falls to look around.
Sigh~
"Are you sure... if you guys fail, it will be too late to regret it."
Calming down a little, Sofya looked at Marcel once again to get his confirmation.
Nod~
Nodding his head, Marcel confirmed he was sure they would succeed.
If he had not accompanied Klaus and his group to aid Jojo in Ludlow, he would not have been able to see another side of this world that made him understand some beings are far more dangerous and powerful than vampires, witches, and wolves.
"Okay, I will believe in you."
After a few seconds of silence and with a defeated sigh, Sofya accepted their fate. If they succeeded, they would be free from the Hollow; if not, they would be killed.
Thu~
"Why does the Mikaelson family always cause problems that endanger others' lives?"
Spitting blood while sitting on the ground, tiredly leaning on the lamppost, Vincent couldn't help but curse while looking at Hayley and Hope.
Creak~
With a creak, Freya exited the Mikaelson compound and started to strengthen the barrier to prevent any accidents from happening.
"____"
"Vincent, what are you doing here?"
Noticing Vincent glaring at her with his mouth covered in blood, raising her eyebrow, Freya asked him.
"____"
"To stop whatever you are planning?"
With a not-so-friendly glare, Vincent snapped back at her.
"____"
"Best of luck..."
With a dead look in her eyes, Freya turned back to the barrier, not caring about Vincent.
After half an hour...
The Hollow's aura started to decrease, which was felt by Freya, Vincent, and Hope, who were the witches present there.
Inside the Hollow's mind...
Seeing Inadu crying while kneeling on the ground, Jojo, who was in his Ghost Rider form, understood she must have also seen what he had seen in her memory.
He didn't know why he could see the past, even before Inadu's birth. He was just guessing it was due to the elder's soul also being bound to Inadu's spirit.
"____"
Getting only silence as an answer, Ghost Rider didn't feel offended. He transformed back into his human self, since now he could control his form in this space.
"It's hard for you."
Not giving up, Jojo once again tried to start the conversation.
After a few seconds of silence...
"____"
Not answering his question, Inadu, with her tear-filled eyes, lifted her head and looked at Jojo's figure while not letting her guard down against him.
"You're also one of those demons, right... the elder summoned one. I saw it."
Looking at Jojo with narrowed eyes, Inadu asked him cautiously.
Seeing he could easily pull her into her own memory space and show her entire memory forcefully made her wary of Jojo.
She couldn't gauge what Jojo's motive was in showing her all her memories.
Seeing all her memories, where she had been manipulated and her soul was slowly corroded by the elder's soul, made her mind unstable.
While she was alive, when she was committing these horrible acts against her clansmen, she never felt sympathy or kindness for them.
But this time, while looking at her memories, seeing herself once again committing those acts, she felt different feelings.
She felt sad. Her heart felt heavy, and tears started to stream from her eyes nonstop.
This feeling, which she had forgotten existed within her, was once again blooming, but this time like a flood of water breaking out of a dam.
Sigh~
"No, Inadu... I am Jojo. I am different from those corrupted demons you saw earlier. My previous form is known as the Spirit of Vengeance or Ghost Rider, whatever you want to call it."
Seeing the suspicious look Inadu was giving him, Jojo, with a sigh, sat beside her calmly and introduced himself and what the fiery skeleton form she had seen earlier was.
"My job is to hunt down sinners and send them to Hell."
With a grin, seeing that Inadu was listening to him intently, Jojo explained his power to her.
PUFF~
With a puff of Hell flames, he once again transformed into his Ghost Rider form.
HAHAHA~
"I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR PUNISHING SINNERS, EVIL SOULS, AND DEMONS OR EVEN ANY LIFE THAT COMMITS SINS."
With a proud pat on his chest, Ghost Rider dramatically declared with both arms open.
"____"
"So you're saying you're here to kill me."
With a sad look on her face, Inadu accepted the fact that she was going to get punished for her sins.
Even though she was manipulated, she could clearly remember everything she did.
"YEAH AND NO."
Nodding his head, Jojo gave his answer, which confused Inadu.
"FOR SOME REASON, WHEN I SAW YOUR SPIRIT FORM, I FELT PITY, NOT ANGER OR DISGUST, JUST PITY. THAT MEANS THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE PUNISHED IS HIM. THAT OLD FOOL WHO WAS TRYING TO TAKE OVER YOUR BODY AND SOUL."
GLEAM~
Noticing the confused look he was receiving, Ghost Rider explained honestly what he felt when he first came into contact with her spirit.
While the Ghost Rider mentioned the old elder who was the main culprit behind the scenes, his hollowed eyes gleamed with fiery red, indicating his mood.
"____"
"It's impossible. He has already corroded my soul to the point of no return. You should just kill me. Let me embrace peace. All my life, I was someone's doll... free me... I have no will to live. No one in the outside world wants me to live. Even my parents..."
Hearing the Ghost Rider's intention to separate her soul from the old elder's soul, she shook her head, denying it was possible to separate the elder's soul now.
So she asked the Ghost Rider to kill her and free her, stating that no one in the world wanted her to live.
Even her parents wanted her to die.
While mentioning them, she stopped midway as tears once again fell from her eyes.
Remembering the look filled with hatred and regret on her parents' faces before her mother stabbed her.
"____"
"NO, YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE. I WANT YOU TO LIVE. NOW COME, LET ME DEAL WITH THE OLD BASTARD."
After a few minutes of silence, the Ghost Rider broke it, stating he wanted Inadu to live.
When Inadu heard his words, her eyes widened in shock.
Before she could speak, they were back in the room where Jojo was holding the steel chain that was binding her tightly.
"IT WILL BE PAINFUL, INADU, BUT I BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN HANDLE IT BECAUSE YOU ARE A STRONG WOMAN. IF SOMEONE EVER TELLS YOU THAT YOU SHOULDN'T LIVE AND THAT NO ONE IN THE WORLD WANTED YOU ALIVE, THEN REMEMBER MY NAME: JOJO SATARU WANTED YOU ALIVE AND TO LIVE YOUR LIFE HAPPILY!"
Giving his speech, the heat and flames in the chain, which Jojo had previously controlled to investigate Inadu's spirit, were now covered in Hellfire.
The temperature rose rapidly, and the chain turned red with heat.
Ahhh~
Feeling the heat, Inadu started screaming in pain. She wanted the suffering to stop but gritted her teeth and tried her best not to lose consciousness, as Jojo had mentioned.
She had to persist, not losing consciousness, in order not to be dragged along with the old man's soul, which Jojo intended to separate.
Ahhhh~
Ahhhh~
As the Ghost Rider kept pulling the iron chain covered in Hellfire, the chain that bonded her passed through her, and the chain was now binding another figure—an old man.
The cries of pain from Inadu were accompanied by another scream, this time from the old man.
Seeing the plan was successful, Inadu's eyes lit up, and her resolve grew stronger.
Looking at the old man who had ruined her life suffering like this made her feel very happy.
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(Author's POV)
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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